Upcoming events
The Story of Sedna and The Snow Queen
Join us for spanning solstice with a moving double feature. Friday and Saturday, December 19th and 20th. Doors 6:30p. Show starts promptly at 7p.
Velvet Effigy presents The Story of Sedna: Mother of the Deep
A retelling of the Inuit creation myth, where a young girl becomes the goddess of the sea & ruler of the underworld. A hauntingly beautiful parable expressed through the interplay of shadow puppetry, marionettes, and video art.
The Mudlark Puppeteers present The Snow Queen
The tale of best friends, Kai and Gerda, and their strange adventures in the world of ‘The Snow Queen.‘ This is the story of a brave journey to young adulthood, where adversity is overcome through curiosity and open-heartedness and where friendship is saved from darkness by the power of love.
The Mudlark Public Theatre at 1200 Port St.
Doors at 6:30p. Show starts at 7p sharp.
The Twelfth Annual New Orleans Giant Puppet Festival's New Year's Eve Masquerade and Benefit Ball
The New Orleans Giant Puppet Festival is hosting a New Year’s Eve Masquerade and Benefit Ball. The evening will include live puppetry and music, a costume showcase, and artisanal bar, and many surprises.
Join us at New Marigny Theatre at 2301 Marais St. on the night of Wednesday, December 31st. The doors will open at 8pm. Festivities begin at 8:30 and will continue ‘til midnight when we may greet the new year together.
General admission $25. Children $10.
The Secret Circus
Welcome to The Secret Circus! When feelings have been outlawed, a gregarious rock-n-roll ringleader and their circus friends establish an underground Big Top, a place for freedom and self-expression that’s welcome to all identities—person, animal, or puppet.
Big feelings are safe under The Mudlark's Big Top, where tight rope walkers, jugglers, and dancing frogs channel their emotions into art, away from the clutches of the “feelings police.”
This family and LGBTQ-friendly show features live music, with both human and puppet circus acts. Original Book, Music, and Lyrics by Chanel Samson and Holly Anne Mitchell, featuring The Mudlark’s legendary puppets. From the show’s creators: “This is the musical we needed as kids.” For adults too, The Secret Circus reminds the inner child what makes you strange is what makes you shine; find the tribe where you belong, and if you can’t find one, make one.
Featuring:
Chanel Samson & Paul Baird on Accordion & Piano
Andy Circus on Hoops and Juggling
The Mudlark Puppets
And more to be announced!
November 28th & 29th at 7pm
45 Minute Runtime
$20 Adults $10 Kids
Mother Catherine and The Temple of the Innocent Blood
‘Mother Catherine and The Temple of the Innocent Blood’ is the latest puppet operetta by New Orleans’ own Mudlark Puppeteers. This work is a celebration of the life and legacy of local folk hero, activist and spiritual leader Mother Catherine Seals. This is the story of a black woman’s ascension to glory through a life dedicated to faith, healing through spirit, and a universal belief in the sanctity of human life. Told through large scale shadow puppetry, rod puppetry, and marionettes, set to a live score of Gospel and Jazz.
The Mudlark Puppeteers will present this work, in a revival-style tent, November 21st-23rd, 2025 at Oliver Bush Park in the lower 9th Ward neighborhood where Mother Catherine’s Temple once stood. 2624 Fats Domino Ave.
This production is made possible through the support of The Jim Henson Foundation for Puppetry and The New Orleans Tourism and Cultural Foundation
Dream It, Be It Giant Puppet Parade
ANNOUNCING The Dream It, Be It Parade!
Saturday, June 7th 2025
Join the New Orleans Giant Puppet Festival family as we PARADE in celebration with the graduates of our Dream It, Be It puppet workshop of 2025! These emerging puppeteers of all ages put many weeks of craft and care into a fleet of dreams made real. Established in 2012, The New Orleans Giant Puppet Festival is a five day celebration of excellence in puppetry, featuring methods of physical and object storytelling ranging from the ancient to the wildly innovative. The Giant Puppet Parades open the stage of the streets to the involvement of local and visiting artists alike. Our ‘Dreamers’ parade will feature workshop puppet creations, marching alongside professional puppeteers, fellow community members, and friends of The Giant Puppet Festival, accompanied by Musicians for a Free Palestine brass band and The Original Wild Tchoupitoulas Mardi Gras Indians.
Please find us on Saturday, June 7th 2025 at 12p, at Plessy Park, corner of Press and Dauphine.
We will process on Dauphine Street,through the Bywater neighborhood, culminating in a celebration at Markey Park, on Dauphine and Piety, at 2p. There will be a celebration and refreshments in the park to follow. COME OUT AND JOIN IN! We invite you to bring out your puppets, costumes, visions as voices as we celebrate DREAMING.
Supported by a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council, as administered by the RAC. Funding has also been provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.